maternal effect

noun

A situation where the phenotype of an organism is determined not only by the environment it experiences and its genotype, but also by the environment and genotype of its mother.

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Meanings

nounmaternal effect (plural maternal effects)

plural maternal effects

  1. evolutionary theorybiologyA situation where the phenotype of an organism is determined not only by the environment it experiences and its genotype, but also by the environment and genotype of its mother.
Cite this entry
APA

maternal effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maternal%20effect

MLA

“maternal effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maternal%20effect. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “maternal effect,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/maternal%20effect.

Source: maternal effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.